Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The CSO collects and reports on a number of statistical outputs relating to employment and wage levels. These include the quarterly national household survey, which is the official source of estimates of employment in the State; the job-churn related statistics from administrative data sources that explore the flow of jobs and workers between firms and within and between sectors, which began in 2012; the monthly unemployment statistics, which began in 2015; the earnings, hours and employment costs survey, which is the official source of short-term earnings and labour costs estimates in the State; and the new structure of earnings survey, which is planned to be published before the end of July 2016 and which will include detailed structural earnings for 2014.

These statistics will be primarily based on linking existing administrative records and survey sources rather than primary data collection.

The above outputs fulfil a number of national demands as well as meeting Irish requirements in the context of European statistical legislation governed by EUROSTAT, the official statistical office of the European Union. The harmonised European statistical requirements generally mirror those requirements of other international organisations such as the OECD and the United Nations.

The CSO is continually engaging with national and international stakeholders to assess the relevance and scope of statistics on employment and wage levels. Where gaps are identified, the CSO will consider proposals to expand the scope of the statistical domains, subject to resource constraints and burden on respondents.

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